The SYSCO property’s long history of heavy industrial activity dates back to a time when the potential environmental effects of such activities were not appreciated. As the mill was not formally closed until early 2001, investigations of potential areas of environmental concern have just begun. The environmental testing carried out to date has been concerned with specific locations or issues, such as sampling hazardous building materials in structures slated for demolition.

As part of the recent demolition process to remove old buildings from the site, a decommissioning program was designed and undertaken in order to ensure that all utilities, machinery, hazardous materials and environmental concerns were neutralized prior to the demolition of each structure. As of the date of this report, no studies have been undertaken to determine the presence, magnitude or extent of environmental impacts in soil or groundwater on the property.

In 2000 and 2001, as part of the Phase II and III environmental site assessments carried out at the Coke Ovens site, the first comprehensive sampling programs were undertaken. Unlike the Coke Ovens site, visible signs of impact do not tend to be widespread. Rather, potential areas of concern have been identified based on past industrial activities.

The SYSCO site may be divided into four general land use areas based on historic land use and industrial activities (Figure 4.1). A general discussion of the land use and any environmental concerns associated with each area is provided below. Detailed land uses for each of the Site Characterization Units (SCU’s) are provided in Table 4.1. The development of the Site Characterization Unit system is discussed in Section 4.5.

Steel Production Area

Shown in Figure 4.1, all historical and modern facilities for making raw iron and steel at the plant were located in the Steel Production Area. Facilities such as blast furnaces, open hearth furnaces, tall stacks, the caster house, the electric arc furnace, calcining plants, kilns, gas producers and boiler plants were all located in this area, as well as underground infrastructure for the conveyance and storage of Bunker ‘C’ fuel and benzene.

General environmental concerns include the historical storage and handling of various bulk materials such as coal, metallic alloys and ores. Past handling of these materials may have affected soil and groundwa-ter quality. All steel production buildings have earth/slag floors, presenting the potential for granular alloys and ores to become integrated with soils on the site.

Lubricants and solvents were used throughout the facilities, and PCB-containing equipment is known to have been in use. Other potential issues include the presence of building materials such as asbestos and lead-based paint, and sewers through which materials may have been disposed.